AUGUST 24, 1942
GOTHAMS HAVE NEW YORKERS DREAMING OF A SUBWAY SERIES
To the surprise of many the New York Gothams are still very much in the Federal Association pennant race, words that haven't been uttered since their last World Championship season of 1935. The Gothams and their fans have endured some hard times since the club sold off most of it's star players in 1936 and underwent a massive rebuilding project, one that just now is starting to pay dividends. The Gothams pitching has finally come around this year and combined with the emergence of young stars Walt Messer (.317,24,81) and Mule Monier (.308,6,37) New York is finally a contender again. The Gothams have not finished with a .500 record since their 93 win campaign of 1935 but seem assured of doing so this season and, at 72-54, are within two games of the front-running Pittsburgh Miners for the Federal Association lead.
22 year old pitcher Ed Bowman (17-7, 2.76) has captured the hearts of Gotham fans and is a lock to be named the top rookie but he is not the only pitcher to impress for New York this season. Harry Carter (14-11, 2.93) is having a career year at age 31 and Charlie Sutton (6-4, 13sv, 0.81) made the all-star team out of the bullpen. Even Cincinnati cast-offs Rusty Petrick (16-11, 3.41) and Gus Goulding (11-14, 4.00) are finding new life in the Big Apple. It just feels like things have changed in New York this season and things are finally going the Gothams way.
Take last week for example when New York went 4-1 to gain some ground on Pittsburgh. Timely hitting and tight wins was the story of the week. It started Tuesday against Detroit when the Gothams capitalized on a wild pitch to score the winning run in the bottom of the 7th to top the Dynamos 4-3. A day later it was another 4-3 win although this time New York nearly let it get away with Detroit plating all 3 of it's runs in the 9th inning before Carter finally pitched his way out of it. Next up at Gothams Stadium was St Louis and while New York did drop the series opener 6-5 in 14 innings the Gothams deserve credit for rallying from a 5-1 deficit to send the contest into extra frames. They avenged that defeat - their only one of the week- with a pair of comeback wins on the weekend. Saturday the New Yorkers plated 2 runs in each of the bottom of the seventh and eighth innings to rally for a 5-3 win and then topped that Sunday with a 4-run 9th for a walk-off 5-4 victory with pinch-hitters coming up big on both occasions.
Those were games that in past years the Gothams would roll over and take the loss but this year something seems different. The city of New York has realized it and the rest of the Federal Association is catching on quickly. The Gothams still have their work cut out for them and face a big test with a 1-game stop in Pittsburgh on Wednesday but the thought of just the second all-New York World Championship Series ever staged -the first was in 1926- is starting to gain traction.
*** WILL LOSS OF SEALS SLOW STARS? ****
It seems like Selective Services is the only thing that can slow down the New York Stars and even that is a questionable. The Stars beat the second place Cougars in a 1-game showdown as a part of a 3-1 week that extended New York's lead atop the Continental Association to 14.5 games. New York is so far in front they can spend some time testing minor leaguers and Andy Gross, who might just be Joe Angevine's replacement next year when Angevine joins Bill Barrett in enlisting, got some time in the big leagues. Gross, who also had a brief stint in the Big Apple last season, went 2-for-4 in his debut against the Cougars and hit .317 on the week.
With Gross at second base we might just be seeing a preview of September's infield as there is a chance that Gross will stick at second base and Mel Hancock Jr. will move to left field when Lew Seals departs for the Army at the end of the month. Seals passed his physical and his final game in a New York uniform is likely to be Sunday when the Stars play a twin bill in Cleveland. The loss of Seals (.260,16,73) may not impact the Continental race but his absence will certainly be felt in the World Championship Series as the 28 year old has been enjoying what is arguably the best season of his 6 year FABL career.
TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN
Wolves hunting down the pack- Toronto continues their up and down season, alternating a good month followed by a bad month. By month the team's record, April: 10-6, May: 11-22, June: 16-12, July: 9-16, August (to date) 14-8. Fans are either hopeful the team has finally turned 1942 around or dreading the calendar change come September. Owner Bernie Millard has directed the management team to come up with promotions for the balance of the season to hopefully generate more attendance therefore revenue for the Wolves. Millard's rant came following less than 11,000 attendance per game for two mid-week games against the Cannons. The first one was billed as a classic pitching match-up, Joe Hancock vs Rufus Barrell II, and it lived up to its billing. Both Hancock, Barrell went the distance in a 3-2 Cannons win. Hancock allowed 2 unearned runs in the sixth following a costly error by Holliday. Average attendance is down almost 700 per game at Dominion Stadium and Millard was heard to mutter that "Heads will roll if attendance doesn't top a million." Attendance will have to average 13,800 in the final 15 home dates to achieve the owner's goal.
Reginald Westfall has been sent to Buffalo for a hopefully quick rehab assignment. His return to Toronto will require some tough 40-man roster decisions in the Wolves front office.
Jerry York's hoped for meteoric rise through the system has run into a bit of road block. The plan to have York finish the season at AA Chattanooga is on hold after 4 lackluster starts in A Davenport, 1-2 5.18, 1.64 WHIP, .324 OAVG it is felt York may have to finish the season in Iowa.
- The schedule maker has made things even more interesting down the stretch in the Fed race. The Pittsburgh Miners have currently played 10 more games than the second place Gothams and the Miners will finish their regular season off on September 21st with a doubleheader at home against Washington. After that it is just sit and wait as both the Gothams and Keystones will have 5 games left to play with each not finishing up until the following Sunday. Boston also has an extra week on the Miners but the Minutemen just have 3 games during that span with all of them against the Keystones.
- Baseball fans in Cleveland will get a treat Saturday when the Foresters host the Brooklyn Kings. The military fund raising game will have a special guest as Max Morris has agreed to attend and may even take a few swats in the batting cage prior to the contest. The 47 year old Morris, a hall of famer and FABL's homerun king, is now a Congressman representing his hometown of Youngstown and has not been seen at a FABL park in quite some time.
- Ed Stewart has landed in the Great Western League with San Diego and the 34 year old veteran of nearly 1,500 FABL games had a solid first week with the Conquistadors, notching 8 hits including a homer in his first 5 games. Stewart was convinced by his good friend Doc Love to head to sunny San Diego. The two were teammates in Detroit a few years back and Love is also enjoying life in the GWL, batting .291 with 7 homers in 51 games since being released by the Cincinnati Cannons.
- If the FABL had a comeback player of the year award, Percy Sutherland would quickly put forth Bob Martin as a nominee. Knock wood--his season has gone better than could have been expected: on pace for 130+ games, 4th in the FA in batting average. Injuries limited the 35 year old 15-year vet to just 46 games over the previous two seasons combined.
- It's been just an awful second half of the season for the Brooklyn Kings. The Kings were just 3 games under the break even mark (41-44) at the all-star break but have gone just 15-25 since, with only Cleveland and Detroit posting worse marks in the second half. Injuries to Joe Herman and Del Lyons hurt and now the news gets worse as Art White (15-10, 2.00), Brooklyn's top pitcher and a 3-time all-star, is done for the year due to shoulder troubles.
DRAFT PREVIEW COVERAGE: TOP TEN PROSPECTS FOR 1944 FABL DRAFT
It is very early and the tendency is the more OSA gets to look at a player the higher the likelihood his stock starts to drop, but based on current assessments from OSA the 1944 draft looks to have much more high end talent that the last couple of seasons or the 1943 class projects to deliver.
The highlight is a trio of pitchers. While none are thought of quite as highly as Hiram Steinberg was a couple of years ago or Rufus Barrell in the past, there are three that OSA feels at this point project to be top of the rotation arms. The trio, all righthanders, are high schoolers Lee Ahlstrom and Jack Entringer along with Charleston Tech sophomore Carl Fritz. If that third name sounds familiar it is because Fritz is the cousin of Milt Fritz, currently with the Chicago Chiefs and owner of 188 career FABL wins and the 1931 Continental Association Allen Award.
Here is an early look at the first round candidates for the 1944 FABL draft.
Code:
WAY TO EARLY 1944 DRAFT MOCK FIRST ROUND RANKINGS
# NAME AGE POS SCHOOL HOMETOWN OSA ASSESSMENT
1 Lee Ahlstrom 16 RHP Harmony (MN) HS Barnesville, MN Future #1 starter
2 Jack Entringer 16 RHP Bay City (MI) HS Bay City, MI front of the rotation potential
3 Carl Fritz 20 RHP Charleston Tech Rochester, NY wil be near the top of any rotation
4 Joe Joyce 16 C Newberry (SC) HS Sumter, SC potential to unleash obvious talent
5 Lindsay Bradley 16 3B Pine City (MN) HS Minneapolis, MN potential to unleash obvious talent
6 Owen Burns 16 OF West Chicago (IL) HS Chicago, IL potential to unleash obvious talent
7 Ray Spring 16 OF San Diego (CA) HS San Diego, CA has the talent to flourish as a RF
8 Danny Allen 20 LHP College of Waco Wellsville, OH has middle rotation potential
9 George Polk 16 LHP Sanbornton (NH) HS Lowell, MA Mid-rotation option
10 Ben Thompson 16 OF Yazoo City (MS) HS Yazoo City, MS Fill a key role on a contender
11 Dave McCraw 16 SS Xavier HS, New York, NY New York, NY Productive regular on contender
12 Wayne Boyd 16 2B Cortland (NY) HS Rochester, NY above-average big league 2B
13 Don Ballard 16 C Prospect Park (NJ) HS Prospect Park, NJ above-average everyday big leaguer
14 Howie Cooper 20 CF Lane State Oakland, CA Fill a key role on a contender
15 Max Keegan 20 CF Springfield State New Tazewell, TN profiles as above average player
16 Gene Ryan 20 C Bayou State San Antonio, TX Productive regular on contender
MISSSISSIPPI A&M AND DARNELL STATE AMONG THE HARDEST HIT COLLEGES
The All-Army football teams had a list of 1,800 soldier-gridders, all formerly in the star category, from which to draw their squad. The Navy, Marine and Coast Guard branches possibly have attracted an equal number, making 3,600 football headliners now wearing uniforms of a different sort.
Although there is no way of determining it exactly, it is likely that 500 of those 3,600 would be in school and getting their bumps and bruises for their college side this fall instead of for Uncle Sam if the world were at peace. An Associated Pres survey shows that virtually every college contributed to the armed services at least one gridder who was still eligible to play and a number of top-flight schools lost far more.
Between graduation and enlistments Mississippi A&M lost more than 20 players from the squad that went 6-0-3 a year ago. Defending national champion Darnell State was hit hard as was Annapolis Maritime due to double graduations for the service academies with one in the spring and the other in June. Gridders who were sophomores for the Navigators and Rome State will be seniors this fall.
Although Uncle Sam tapped at least one footballer at almost all colleges, he drew more from some than others. For example in the Academia Alliance Henry Hudson and George Fox suffered big losses while Pierpont was barely touched. The same can be said out west as Lane State was hit hard but Redwood University and CC Los Angeles did not lose many of their non-graduating starters. The result is the 1942 college football season will be an extremely unpredictable one and fans should brace for a lot of surprise results this season.
The game may lose some polish but the college coaches promise that fans will still get their money's worth. Most of the mentors acknowledge that the polish and finesse of former years may be lacking from the college game in a slight way, but all agree, in a survey made by the Associated Press, that the spectacular will become much more common and that upsets will be lurking behind every goalpost.
There might be a slight drop in the quality of play from week to week because of poor reserves and the use of freshman but this will mean more upsets. Once coach compared the drop in quality with a track meet, declaring that the average fan "can't tell the difference between a 4:08 and a 4:12 1-mile run without a stop watch."
GRIDIRON NOTES- There is good news for college football fans. This one comes by a roundabout route, but, the story is that the Office of Defense Transportation has assured college representatives that they'll be able to get transportation for their teams this fall. There had been some worry from athletic directors that travel for a large group like their football teams might prove to be difficult to arrange.
- The big worry in football, for both the pros and the colleges, is a shortage of leather may impact the supply of footballs. The difficulty arises from the fans' practice of keeping balls kicked into the end zones on points-after-touchdown. Heretofore the customers have been permitted to retain them on a catcher's-keeper basis, but that practice seems doomed this autumn.
- Word from Brooklyn is the grid Kings, despite losing their coach and a number of players to the war effort, are looking strong and ready for a bounce back year. The Kings suffered through a dismal 4-7 season last year after winning the AFA title in 1940.
- The War comes close to home for the Washington Wasps as they go through their training paces on the west coast. Not only are they quartered at a military school in San Diego, but nearby in the rolling hills is Camp Callen, a large Army post. During the day booming drumfire of artillery practice rolls down from the Army post to lend realistic sound effects to the setting and making it difficult for players to hear instructions from the coaching staff at times.
- The Wasps will take on the All-Army West team August 30th in Los Angeles and Washington's coaching staff promises to give the fans "a lot of wide-open football." The Wasps want to see quarterback Jeff Proos get involved early so they plan to call a lot of pass plays. The Army squad should not be taken lightly as they will be led by Elton Raymond, who was an All-American fullback at Darnell State in 1940 and also feature quarterback Harry DeSpain, a former college teammate of Raymond's who played for the New York Football Stars last season along with former Brooklyn King guard Emmett Larson.
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 8/23/1942
- Great Britain, United States and Russia have reached 'important decisions" in the war against the Axis in a four-day council of war attended by Winston Churchill and Averill Harriman, envoy of President Roosevelt, in Moscow. Several high ranking American military leaders as well as British generals also attended the conference.
- The plans from that meeting were quickly displayed as for the first time United States Army Rangers joined British forces in landing on the French coast in the Dieppe area. The raid was determined to be a huge success as the Allies dealt the Germans heavy casualties.
- U.S. planes renew raids on French military targets, joining the R.A.F. in a new 24-hour a day offensive.
- A great naval battle, rivaling those of Coral Sea and Midway, is still in progress around the Solomon Islands. Some experts believe this naval engagement will prove to be the most important battle in the Pacific to date.
- As the week came to a close US troops opened a second offensive operation against the Japanese, this time in the Gilbert Islands more than 1,200 miles northeast of the Solomon Islands battleground.
- The Russians announced they are firmly holding against a supreme German offensive southwest of Stalingrad and that the Nazis were hastily bringing up reserves because of their heavy losses.
- Brazil is the latest to declare war on the Axis. This coming after the torpedoing and sinking of 5 more Brazilian ships, all within Brazil's coastal waters.
- Because of increases in the cost of living, the Barbers union says starting October 1st the price of a haircut and shave will increase from 80 cents to a dollar. Men now pay 60 cents for a haircut and 20 cents for shave but the prices will increase to 75 cents and a quarter. Children's haircuts will also go up from 40 cents to 50 cents.